3D Printer Prices

3D printer prices are dropping into a range that could appeal to home users.

A handful of 3D printers priced at less than US$500 were shown at the Inside 3D Printing trade show this week in New York. They can print small objects in limited colors, but prices of more advanced home 3D printers are dropping as well, opening up the market to a wider audience.

3D printing involves taking a filament like plastic and discharging it through a nozzle on a substrate to make parts, and has been used to make a range of items, including smartphone cases, toys, automotive and aeronautic parts, and even a space probe. 3D printing allows for faster and less expensive production of parts for such items, and designing and prototyping the parts becomes easier, said 3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental during a keynote at the conference this week.

"We are observing companies are under increased pressure to deliver products faster," Reichental said. "For the price of one unit, I can make millions of units [with a 3D printer]."

Prices of 3D printers are falling at a fast clip, helped by technological advancements, the expiration of certain patents and increasing competition, said Tim Shepherd, senior analyst at Canalys Research.

"It is possible today to get low-end, relatively basic printers for several hundred dollars, where in the past they started in the thousands-of-dollars range," Shepherd said.

Canalys expects the 3D printer market to grow rapidly in the coming years, with sales of printers, materials and services reaching $3.8 billion this year, compared to $2.5 billion last year, and hitting $16.2 billion by 2018.

Growth will be fueled when companies such as Hewlett-Packard enter the 3D printing market, Canalys said. MakerBot and 3D Systems are the most widely recognized 3D printing companies today.

XYZSystems is making a play for the home with the $499 da Vinci 1.0, which was shown at the show. It has a single nozzle, meaning that it produces single-color items. The printer can make items measuring 200 x 200 x 200 millimeters.

iolo Releases System Mechanic 12.7

System Mechanic 12.7 continues to push the boundaries of what your PC can do for you. Exceptional improvements to LiveBoost™ real-time responsiveness technology deliver a more agile machine that’s tuned even better to your needs. Enhancements to Windows customization settings give you more system control, while a wider array of diagnostics monitor and help protect your PC’s health. These performance, configuration and diagnostic improvements represent the smartest version of System Mechanic yet. Your PC will stand at attention, ready to go when you are.

Key Benefits Summary

Comprehensive solution: Performs an automated 229-point full service computer diagnostic exam.

Independent lab proven: Multiple 3rd party experts prove System Mechanic works hard to improve PC speed and reliability.

Science-driven power: Uses iolo Labs’ research data to automatically fix over 36,000 different types of problems and errors.

A wise investment: Helps make old PCs run like new again and keeps new PCs running smooth, avoiding headaches and premature replacement costs.

The expert’s choice: Consistently ranked most effective in improving PC performance by independent test labs.

Patented automatic maintenance: iolo’s patented ActiveCare® technology automatically maintains your PC while it isn’t being used.

Unlimited home license: iolo’s breakthrough Whole Home License® allows unlimited product use on all your home PCs.

Compatible with all versions of Windows: Optimized for each version of Windows from XP, Vista, 7, to Windows 8, iolo ensures its products are always on the cutting edge.

For more information go to www.iolo.com

MSFT Gives IN (Again!!)

With another update to Windows 8.1, Microsoft will be bringing back a Start Menu and windowed Metro-Style/Modern apps, Microsoft officials confirmed during the company's Build 2014 show.

Terry Myerson, the Executive Vice President of the operating system group, told attendees of the Build keynote on April 2 that Microsoft will be making these tweaks to Windows in an update to Windows 8.1 that will be available at some point in the future.

Microsoft is making its first update to Windows 8.1 available to customers starting today. It wasn't clear from Myerson's remarks if he was referring to an Update 2 later this year or to Windows 9, which we Microsoft watchers have heard is a Spring 2015 deliverable. Microsoft officials have not publicly confirmed that an Update 2 to Windows 8.1 is in the cards. My sources have said that an Update 2 was a possibility for fall 2014.

Sources of mine had said Microsoft would talk about Windows futures at this week's Build show, offering developers some guidance about what to expect as the company moves toward Windows 9, codenamed "Threshold."

Cortana

Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 8.1 on Wednesday, and confirmed reports that the new OS includes Microsoft's first voice-activated digital assistant, called Cortana.

Windows Phone 8.1 won't be generally available for several months -- it's slated to run new phones shipping in late April or early May, according to Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president of Microsoft's operating systems group.                                                    

Belfiore spoke at the opening of Microsoft's Build 2014 developer conference, which was webcast.

Another major new feature in WP 8.1 is a shape writing capability now commonly available in some other smartphones and via add-on apps. Belfiore demonstrated the shape writing by swiping his finger through a keyboard without lifting it between letters.

Cortana will first appear in beta.

The Start Menu Comes Back

You heard right, devout desktop lovers: The Start menu is coming back to Windows, Microsoft operating system head Terry Myerson announced at Build on Wednesday.

The details are hazy, aside from the fact that it's going to be pushed to all Windows 8.1 users as an update at some point in the future. But it's a-coming—though it's not quite the Start menu you're familiar with. Beyond the traditional mouse-friendly features, the Windows 8.1 Start menu will be crammed with Live Tiles, along with the ability to find and install Microsoft's universal Windows apps, also announced Wednesday.

But the desktop friendliness doesn't end there: Those new universal Windows apps, which scale across PCs, tablets, and phones, will be able to run inside windows on the traditional Windows desktop. Both the Start menu and windowed Metro apps appear in the screenshot above.

Your prayers haven't quite been answered, PC fans, but Microsoft is definitely listening to your concerns—and it's bending over backward to create a Windows that mashes its touch-tastic, cloud-connected vision of the future together with the keyboard and mouse that the PC faithful know and love.

The compromises begin when the mouse-friendly Windows 8.1 Update hits on April 8, though it's unknown when the Start Menu and windowed Metro apps will push out as a feature.

The Power of Chromebooks

Chromebooks aren't taking over the world but they are taking away sales from a rapidly shrinking Windows-based PC market, according to a market researcher.

An estimated 2.1 million Chromebooks shipped in 2013 with nearly 89 percent of total shipments reaching North America, ABI Research said.

And Chromebooks will slowly but steadily make gains in the coming years. As Chromebook shipments expand globally, ABI Research expects about 11 million to ship in 2019.

"Chromebooks have surprised us...It is not just education, it is small business," Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman said last month at a technology conference. HP sells the Chromebook 11 and Chromebook 14.

ABI Research said the average selling price for a Chromebook is $338. "This truly budget-driven device is a disruptive force to the portable PC market," says ABI analyst Stephanie Van Vactor in a statement.

That disruption is happening with Windows 8.1 PCs.

"The broader portable PC market continues to struggle, said ABI "The ultraportable segment, which is powered by the Windows 8 operating system...saw minimal growth during 4Q 2013 even with the holiday season."

Mandatory Backup Cameras

Rear-facing cameras used to be a selling point for cars of the future. By May 2018, the feature will be required on nearly every new vehicle.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Monday that it is rolling out a rule that will require every new car, SUV, and minivan, as well as some new small trucks and buses to have rear-visibility technology by May 2018. The agency estimates the new rule will save lives each year and help curb the 15,000 injuries, mostly to young children and the elderly, that back-over accidents cause every year.                 

   

Already rear-visibility technology is available on two-thirds of the nation’s 50 top-selling vehicles, according to the Auto Alliance, an association of 12 top vehicle manufacturers. The technology must provide a field of view that includes a 10-foot by 20-foot zone